Every Picture Tells a Story (Don't It?)

I’m super excited to have been invited to join a blog group alongside three talented bloggers.  Each week, one of us chooses a topic and we all post a blog entry on that topic, usually on Thursdays.    

Here are the links to the other fabulous blogs:

Merryland Girl

Froggie
Moma Rock

  

This week’s topic came from Moma Rock, who asked us to share some photos and talk about why they are important to us.  I struggled this week, only because I don't have a lot of photos available in digital format, and the bulk of my non-digital pictures are stowed away in a large Rubbermaid container . . .  somewhere . . . .  I warned the others they may get nothing more than an assortment of goofy cat photos, which are plentiful on my phone.  I almost skipped the picture part to muse about why I'm so terrible at organizing my photos blah blah blah, but I thought I'd look through the ones I could access and work with those.  If you've been my FB friend for awhile, you've likely seen all or most of these, but here are a few fan favorites:

Our Happy Place.

There is no place on Earth that Michelle, my Sister in Bon Jovi, and I would rather be than at a Bon Jovi concert.  This pic was taken in October of 2013, the last time we saw the boys.  We've lost count as to how many times we've seen the band; we only know that the concerts aren't the same if we aren't together.

Hollywood Nights.

I lived in L.A. in my mid-20s because, well, why not?  This photo was taken at my 25th birthday party, held at a Thai-restaurant-turned-rock-club on Hollywood Boulevard.  I'm with Wild 'n Free Sweet Johnny D., a good new friend then and a good old friend now, a "few" years later.  (Like his Facebook page!!)

A Most Unlikely Location.

Two summers ago, we made a trip to Iowa to attend the State Fair.  We detoured in Fairfield, a town known -- surprisingly -- for its focus on meditation.  Two times a day, almost the entire town heads to a central location to meditate, and people from around the world head to Fairfield to train in meditation.  After seeing an Oprah episode about Fairfield, I wanted to check it out.  I took the photo in a burst of irony, but, really I find it inspiring:  a tower of power in a field of corn.

Dad meets Richie.  

This photo comes with an awesome story.  My Dad, a former Chicago Police sergeant and lifelong Chicagoan, hated Mayor Daley II.  Hate hate hated him.  He was the Mayor's biggest non-fan, and he was quite outspoken about his feelings.  (I don't think he was much of a fan of Mayor Daley I, either.)  

My Dad is also a Korean War veteran, and he and his veterans' group were active in the 60th anniversary service held at Chicago's Daley Plaza in July of 2011.  A luncheon followed the service, and in an amusing twist of fate, my Dad was to be seated at the Mayor's table.  My Mom and my sister and I held our collective breath:  could Dad make it through lunch without decking Richie -- or at least telling him off?  

After the luncheon, I stopped by my parents' house for a debriefing.  Dad was all smiles.  Dad?  LOVED Mayor Daley.  In one short lunch, Mayor Daley managed to charm my father, no easy task.  The Mayor treated my father with respect and spoke to him as a peer -- and it didn't hurt that they share a birthday.

A Leap of Faith.

Sure, I appear to be lounging in a wonderful wooded setting, doing a whole bunch of nothing.  But, in reality, I was sitting with fifteen other writers in author Wade Rouse's backyard near Saugatuck, Michigan, participating in a three-day writing workshop.  I came to the workshop nervous and fearful; after all, Wade would be critiquing a chunk of my work, and I'd be reading aloud to the entire group.  I left more confident and with a new circle of writing friends, people I now can't imagine not knowing.  

An Afternoon in Fairfield, Iowa.

This picture just cracks me up.  During our stop in Fairfield, in the town center, we found a gazebo and these statues, which just begged for company.  The 10 (then just shy of 9) thoroughly enjoyed her visit with her new pals.  I laugh every time I look at this photo, and we've enlarged it to hang at home (if I can only find where I put it ... ).

Perhaps one day I will organize my photos, or at least figure out why I haven't yet done so.  Otherwise, next time, be prepared for the best cat photo array ever.